This is the second time the prince has been deployed to Afghanistan. His first tour, in 2007 as an armored reconnaissance troop leader, was cut short when his whereabouts were leaked by the media, putting the lives of himself and his comrades in danger. He specifically chose to change roles so he could go back.

"All these people talking these stories of 'Oh, he's been trained as (an) Apache pilot, he's never going to see active service, he's never going to get to the front line,' you can't train people and then not put them into the role they need to play," Prince Harry said in March.

"For me personally, as I said, I want to serve my country. I've done it once, and I'm still in the Army, I feel as though I should get the opportunity to do it again."

Prince Harry has spent the past 18 months training for his role, including a stint in the US.